Two Companies Agree to Buy San Diego-Based DivX for Up to $75M

Parallax Capital Partners and StepStone Group said on March 31 that they had inked a definitive agreement to buy DivX LLC, the San Diego-based video technology company, from Silicon Valley-based Rovi Corp. for up to $75 million.

The purchase price consists of cash and additional deferred contingent payments. DivX’s MainConcept subsidiaries were part of the purchase.

San Diego-based Karmel Capital helped DivX management in the transaction.

Both buyers have a local presence. Parallax Capital is based in Laguna Hills, in south Orange County. StepStone Group is based in New York and has a San Diego office.

DivX describes itself as a leading provider of advanced end-to-end solutions that enable a superior high-quality video experience on virtually any device or platform. It calls itself “a pioneer in creating and delivering technologies that allow media customers to access quality content across the entire range of network conditions common in today’s multi-screen lifestyle.” Its software is on more than 1 billion devices and it counts more than +200 million users.

DivX went public in 2006. Sonic Solutions acquired it in 2010. A few months later, Sonic was itself acquired by Rovi (Nasdaq: ROVI).

DivX has its headquarters in the University Towne Center neighborhood of San Diego, where it employs 130 people. The business has operations in China, Germany, Japan, Russia and South Korea. Kanaan Jamili is the company’s CEO.